


Same Same, But Different

by LittleWhiteTie



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Angst, Hanahaki Disease, Hurt/Comfort, Idiots in Love, M/M, Misunderstandings, Mutual Pining, Pining Keith (Voltron), Pining Shiro (Voltron), Sick Keith (Voltron), Sick Shiro (Voltron), Some Humor
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-16
Updated: 2020-01-22
Packaged: 2021-02-27 07:40:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 7,777
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22273450
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LittleWhiteTie/pseuds/LittleWhiteTie
Summary: Both Shiro and Keith come down with an illness born of feelings of unrequited love, and it’s only getting worse.“Shiro. You’re my brother. I love you.”Shiro thinks Keith thinks of him as a brother and nothing more; Keith thinks he confessed but Shiro’s never said anything back.It’s up to the rest of the paladins to figure out the truth and get their idiot friends together before it’s too late.
Relationships: Keith/Shiro (Voltron)
Comments: 102
Kudos: 342





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I know this chapter's a bit on the short side. Next ones will be longer!

“Are you sure this is a good idea?” Hunk asks. “This doesn’t seem like a good idea.”

“Like I said before,” Keith sighs, “We need food supplies from somewhere, and the Trifolians are willing to negotiate as long as I’m there.”

“But you’ve, like, got the plague.”

Keith rolls his eyes. “It’s just a cough, Hunk.”

“A really _gross_ one.”

Keith glares at Hunk. “Do you want food to work with or not? The Trifolians made it pretty clear the leader of Voltron has to be present for discussions, and like it or not, that’s me.”

“Yeah, but I don’t want you to _die,”_ Hunk says. “It’s gonna take a few days at least. And even getting to this place—maybe the trek going down isn’t so bad, but coming back up? That’s gonna be rough. How much further is this place, anyway?”

“Another varga or so, from the looks of it,” Allura says, peering down into the heart of the red, dusty valley where Trifolia’s capital is nestled.

Hunk groans. “My legs are tired. I hate hiking. Why couldn’t this place be somewhere we could get to easily from our Lions?”

“Quit whining,“ Keith says. “You—“ His next sentence is cut off by a harsh coughing fit.

Hunk shares a nervous glance with Allura. It sounds _bad_.

Completely objectively, Keith looks like garbage. He looks like roadkill. He looks like something chewed him up, then spat him out, then chewed him up some more.

When Keith’s coughing has subsided, Allura says, gently, “The Trifolians are open to negotiations every solstice. We could come back at a later date.”

“We can’t afford to wait that long,” Keith says. He wipes the sweat from his pallid brow. “I’m fine, okay?”

Allura’s lips press together, but she says, “Alright then.”

Hunk frowns at her. He is definitely not fine.

Allura gives him a shrug, one that says: we can’t stop him, might as well go along with it. “You’ll see when we get there, Hunk: the Trifolians have some of the best food in the universe. Their desserts are positively divine.”

“Okay, okay,” Hunk says.

Keith continues to cough. Hunk holds his tongue, but it doesn’t stop him from worrying.

…

True to Allura’s word, the meal they’re served during the first round of discussions is possibly the best meal Hunk’s ever had in his life _._ The flavours meld together perfectly; each dish has been carefully curated and artfully put together.

It’s only ruined slightly by Keith’s awful coughing. It sounds horrible and he keeps _swallowing_ whatever comes up.

To be fair, he can’t exactly spit it out in front of everyone when they don’t have any napkins—the wide shape of the Trifolians’ mouths preclude them from needing them—and only Hunk and Allura can tell that he’s doing it. But still. It’s disgusting.

The way Allura’s nose wrinkles tells Hunk she feels the same way.

Keith doesn’t eat much, and by the time the discussions are done with for the evening, he’s dead on his feet. Hunk offers an arm to steady him as they follow their Trifolian guide to their quarters for the night, but Keith bats him away.

The room is simple, cozy with three beds and an en suite bathroom. Keith grimaces. “We’re… sharing a room.” His voice drips with displeasure.

“Hey, I don’t want to share any more than you do,” Hunk says. “I _really_ don’t want to catch whatever you have.”

“Hardly anyone gets symptoms. You’ll be fine,” Keith says.

“How do you know that, exactly?” Hunk asks. “Did you go and get it checked out to get some kind of diagnosis? Even though it’s, and I quote, _just a cough?”_

Keith tenses. “…Yeah. I did. Better safe than sorry.”

Allura arches an eyebrow. That is _definitely_ not a Keith-ism. But his defensive body language makes it clear pressing him won’t get them anywhere, so Hunk just shrugs. “Okay then,” he says, and gets ready for bed.

Keith coughs throughout the night. Whenever the coughing gets bad, he gets up and shuts himself in the bathroom.

Hunk opens his eyes, glancing across the moonlit room to find Allura’s awake too.

“Ugh, I can’t sleep,” Hunk mutters, the third time it happens. “Keith’s coughing keeps waking me up.”

“I know,” Allura says. “But we haven’t really any right to complain. It’s far worse for him.”

Keith’s coughing fit is muffled from behind the bathroom door, but it’s still audible.

The coughing continues, on and on. Hunk and Allura just look at each other, unable to get back to sleep when Keith’s coughing up a lung.

Hunk winces when he hears retching. “Keith, buddy, you doing okay?” he calls.

“…I’m—” _cough_ “—fine,” Keith gasps. “Go—” _cough_ “—go back to sleep.”

“Uh, yeah, it's kinda hard to do that when you’re dying in there,” Hunk says.

 _“Try,”_ Keith rasps.

Hunk sighs and rolls over.

He shuts his eyes, but Keith’s coughing fit is persistent. It _won’t stop_ and it sounds like he’s throwing up and _ugh_ , no, Hunk definitely can’t sleep.

“I’m worried,” Allura says, after a few doboshes. The mattress creaks beneath her as she sits up. “Should we check on him?”

“He did say he was fine,” Hunk says. He does _not_ want to go in there if Keith’s puking.

“He doesn’t sound fine,” Allura says, getting to her feet.

Sighing, Hunk kicks his blanket aside and gets up, following Allura.

“Keith?” she calls, knocking on the door.

When there’s no response, she reaches for the knob and pushes the door open.

Keith is collapsed over the toilet. “W-wait,” he croaks, too late. “Don’t—”

“Are those— have you been coughing those up?” Allura asks, incredulous. “Keith, what’s going on?”

Hunk really, really doesn’t want to look at the contents of the bowl, but Allura’s words have him curious, and eventually, he manages a glance.

It’s worse than what he’d prepared himself for. The toilet water, tinged pink with blood, is strewn with delicate white flowers.

“Oh, Keith,” Hunk utters, heart sinking.

“Get out,” Keith gasps. It’s more a plea than anything.

Hunk doesn’t budge. “Keith, this… this is serious.”

“Hunk, do you know what this is?” Allura demands. “Is this some sort of Earth disease?”

“Yeah,” Hunk says. “It’s rare, but… yeah. I know what it is. Seems pretty advanced, too. Why didn’t you say anything, man?”

“Because it wouldn’t change anything _,”_ Keith says. “There’s nothing you can do about it, so just forget it, okay?”

“Yeah, I can’t really do that,” Hunk says. “But, ugh, that can’t be comfortable. Let’s get you back to bed, okay, buddy? We can bring the garbage bin.”

Keith makes a noncommittal noise. Hunk takes it as license to haul Keith to his feet. He ducks under one of his arms and helps him back to bed. Allura grabs the bin from the corner of the room for him and follows.

“It’s called Hanahaki disease,” Hunk says to Allura, setting Keith down on the bed.

“Hunk, _don’t,”_ Keith rasps.

“Are you gonna explain it, then?” Hunk asks. “‘Cause if one of us doesn’t explain it, she’s gonna have to ask someone else, like Pidge, or Lance, or Shiro—”

Keith chokes and, snatching the bin, coughs up a few more flowers.

Hunk narrows his eyes. “Shiro? Is it Shiro?”

“Is who Shiro?” Allura asks.

Keith coughs again. “It doesn’t fucking matter. It’s none of your business.”

“It kind of is,” Hunk says. “I mean, apart from obviously being worried about you ‘cause you’re our friend, technically it affects team Voltron too. You’re our leader.”

Keith looks away, but he doesn’t protest further.

Hunk wraps an arm around Keith’s shoulders and tells Allura, “Hanahaki is a parasite that can infect people’s lungs. Under certain conditions, it can grow roots and flowers.”

“Certain conditions?” Allura asks.

Hunk turns to Keith. Keith doesn’t say anything.

“If the person’s in love with someone and they don’t love them back, the parasite sort of… feeds on those feelings,” Hunk says, quietly. “The longer it goes on, the worse it gets.”

Allura’s lips part. “So then Keith…”

“Yeah,” Hunk says, squeezing tighter.

“And the cure…?”

“There… isn’t one,” Hunk says. “Unless the person returns their feelings, it’s...” _Fatal_ , he can’t bring himself to say.

Allura squeezes Keith’s knee. “Keith, how can you be so certain that whoever it is doesn’t feel the same way?”

“Because I told them, okay?!” Keith snaps. “I told them I loved them, and they didn’t return it. So just—” He breaks into a coughing fit, producing a few more flowers. “Please,” he whispers. “Just leave it alone.”

“I’m sorry, Keith,” Hunk says, rubbing his back.

“I want to lie down,” Keith says, quietly.

So Hunk helps him lie down and places the waste bin where he can reach it.

Nobody sleeps that night.


	2. Chapter 2

“Hope you’re ready to have your butt kicked at Killbot, Lance,” Pidge smirks as she touches down in the Green Lion’s hangar.

“Ha, good luck with that,” Lance sneers over the comms. “I’ve been practicing. But snack first. Need something to get rid of the taste of all that Rhyzantian blargnak.”

“Seriously, how can they eat that for every meal?” Pidge says, shuddering. “Too bad Hunk’s still away on that mission with Keith and Allura, but I’ll settle for just about anything right now.”

Pidge and Lance make their way to the commissary, where they’re given a heaping plate of violet nachos. There are definitely perks to being Hunk’s besties.

“So. Good,” Pidge says as she shoves three in her mouth, cheese stretching out for days.

“Mmm,” Lance says.

They’re both so engrossed in the nachos neither of them notice someone approach.

“Hey, you two,” Veronica says, startling them both. “How was your mission?”

“Enh,” Lance shrugs. “Pretty boring. Food was awful. This,” he says, holding up a fistful of nachos, “is heaven.”

“How’ve things been on the ship?” Pidge asks.

“Busy,” Veronia says. “At least on the bridge. There hasn’t been anything too too crazy, thankfully, but the rest of us are trying to take on as much as we can without the captain while he’s sick.”

“Shiro’s sick?” Pidge asks.

Veronica nods. “He’s been holed up in his room the past few days. He insists on doing work from there, but we try not to burden him with too much. I was gonna drop this off outside his room, actually,” she says, nodding to the tray in her arms with soup and toast.

“We can bring it to him,” Lance offers.

“Sure. That’d be great,” Veronica says, setting the tray down. “Thanks, guys.”

“And you say I never help you out,” Lance says.

Veronica laughs, affectionately whacking Lance over the head. “Yeah, yeah. See you later.”

“I hope Shiro’s okay,” Pidge says, as the two quickly devour the rest of their plate. “It’s gotta be pretty bad if he’s not even leaving his room to get his own food.”

“Yeah, and Keith isn’t even here to nurse him back to health,” Lance says. “Looks like it’s Team Plance to the rescue.”

“Team Plance?” Pidge says, raising an eyebrow.

“Y’know, like Team Punk. Except it’s us.”

Pidge’s lips quirk up as she wipes her greasy hands on a stack of paper napkins. She grabs Shiro’s tray and stands up. “Alright, Plance. Let’s move out.”

“Aww, Pidge, you’re spilling,” Lance whines, and oops, some of the soup has splashed over the rim of the bowl. “Gimme that,” he says, snatching the tray from her.

Pidge pouts, but really, it’s for the best. Knowing her, she’d trip and spill the tray before they got to Shiro’s room.

Team Plance successfully manoeuvres their way through the Atlas’ uniform corridors to Shiro’s room.

Pidge knocks at the door. “Shiro?”

There’s no response.

“Louder, Pidge,” Lance says. He passes her the tray. “Here, let me.”

He bangs on the door. “Shiro?” he calls.

“Just a moment,” Shiro’s muffled voice says through the door.

They wait there in silence, long enough that they exchange a worried look.

Finally, the door opens. Shiro leans against the door jamb with his prosthesis. He’s shaky and clammy with spots of colour high in his cheeks.

“Oh, quiznak,” Lance says. “You look like crap.”

“Thank you, Lance,” Shiro croaks. His voice is shot.

“I mean, you normally look _great,_ so…”

Shiro snorts. He gestures to the tray with the hand that isn’t busy keeping him upright. “You brought this for me?”

“Yeah,” Pidge says. The room behind him is dimly lit. “Can we come in?”

“…Yeah. Sure,” Shiro says.

They step inside and turn the lights up. It’s the first time Pidge has been in Shiro’s quarters. It’s bigger than theirs, appearing even bigger with how spartan the place is. Makes sense, him being captain and all.

“You can leave it there,” Shiro says, gesturing to a small metal table against the wall.

Pidge nearly spills the soup as Shiro starts coughing, loud and harsh. It sounds awful _._

There’s an empty glass on the end table by his bed. “Here, let me go get you some water,” she says.

“No, don’t bother. I’m— I’m okay,” Shiro gasps, between coughs.

“I’ll just fill this for later, then,” she says, snatching up the glass before Shiro can protest further.

She brings it to his en suite bathroom, pausing when she spies a flash of bright red among the ubiquitous grey of the ship. There are a couple small petals on the bathroom floor, scarlet and flecked with something a couple shades darker.

Pidge frowns. What are petals doing here? There are no plants in Shiro’s room. They’ve got an odd shape to them, too, bifurcated with sharp points, and they don’t look like anything she remembers seeing in the greenhouse.

She plucks one from the ground and stuffs it in her back pocket before returning to Shiro with the glass of water.

Shiro sits at the edge of his bed, Lance beside him. He takes the glass with a quiet _thank you_ and a slight tremor in his hand.

“So Veronica says you’ve been working from your room,” Lance says.

“A little,” Shiro says. “They haven’t given me much. They should be giving me more.”

“You need a break,” Lance says. “You should be resting. Working so hard is probably what got you sick in the first place.”

“It’s definitely not,” Shiro says. “I’m alright. Getting a little stir-crazy, to be honest.”

“When’s the last time you left your room?” Pidge asks.

“Few days,” Shiro says. “I don’t want to infect anyone.”

Pidge frowns. That hadn’t stopped him before, when he’d gotten sick aboard the Castle of Lions. He’d been up and about, working until he’d collapsed. Thankfully, Keith had been there to catch him.

“Speaking of which,” Shiro says, “I appreciate you stopping by, but you should probably go. I don’t want you to catch this.”

Pidge suspects that’s not the real reason he doesn’t want them there, but she can’t really argue with him.

“Alright,” Lance says. “Let us know if you need anything.”

“I will.” He won’t.

“Get some rest,” Pidge says.

As soon as Shiro’s door slides shut behind them, Lance says, “He looks bad.”

“Yeah,” Pidge agrees.

“But he doesn’t seem to want our help, so… Killbot time,” Lance says, flexing his fingers.

“Hold up,” Pidge says. “I want to ask my mom about this first.” She fishes the petal out from her pocket. “I found this on Shiro’s bathroom floor.”

“Oh, ew,” Lance says, wrinkling his nose. “Why the heck would you pick that up?”

“I want to know where it came from,” Pidge says.

Lance cocks an eyebrow. “Uhhh, a flower?”

Pidge rolls her eyes. “Yes, but where did the flower come from? There aren’t any plants in Shiro’s room.”

“Maybe Shiro has a secret admirer,” Lance says. “…Who he hates. So he threw the flowers out.”

“By flushing them down the toilet?” Pidge asks. “There weren’t any flowers in the garbage.”

“Jeez, Pidge. Why were you looking through—” Lance blanches as he takes a closer look. “Is— is that _blood?!”_

“I don’t know,” Pidge says. “I need to run some tests.”

“Okay, first of all, it’s _super_ gross that you picked that up with your hands and are just carrying it around in your pocket. But… he’s sick. Do you think it’s…?”

“I really hope not,” Pidge says. “But I have to find out.”

Lance nods. “Yeah. I’m coming with you.”

They hurry through the corridors to the greenhouse. It’s not as if shaving off a couple minutes is going to make much of a difference, but it feels better.

They’re in luck. When they reach the greenhouse, they run into her mom, who’s taking cuttings of some bright blue ferns.

“Hey, mom,” Pidge says, taking out the petal. “What can you tell me about this?”

Her mom frowns. “Is this blood yours?”

Pidge shakes her head. “No, I found it like this. But you think it’s blood?”

“It’s definitely blood,” her mom says. “You really shouldn’t be handling this without gloves, Katie.”

“I know,” Pidge says.

Her mom sighs and takes a closer look. “This isn’t from anything we’re growing here, and it doesn’t fit with any of the flora from the planets the Atlas has visited recently. It… looks like something a parasitologist showed me once, back on Earth, but… Where did you find this?”

“I found it in Shiro’s bathroom,” Pidge admits.

Her mom’s eyes widen, then she frowns. “Does he know you took this?”

“I could put it back when we’re done?” Pidge offers.

“This is a serious invasion of privacy, Katie,” her mom says.

“Too late now,” Pidge says. “But do you think it’s… you know…”

Her mom’s lips press together. “Check for saliva to be sure.”

“Thanks, Mom.”

Pidge and Lance head to the lab adjacent to the infirmary.

“You know how to use this stuff?” Lance asks when they get there, gesturing to the equipment.

“I can figure it out easily enough,” Pidge says, pulling up a screen and skimming through the instructions.

Lance hovers, lurking over her shoulder. She raises an eyebrow at him.

“I can help,” Lance offers. “I’m, like, great at science.”

“Sure,” Pidge says. “I think that bench needs warming. You can help out by sitting there and not touching anything.”

“Fine, fine,” Lance sighs, waving her off.

The assay is straightforward enough to run. Once it’s started, she shoves Lance over on the bench to make room, and they play PocketBot against each other on their personal devices.

“Told you I’ve been practicing,” Lance says, smugly, when he beats her.

Pidge glares at him and immediately challenges him to another round.

When the results of the analysis are finished, announced with a muted _ding_ , they leap to their feet and scramble over to the machine.

 _Green_. Pidge’s heart sinks. “It’s positive.”

Lance frowns. “So that means…”

“It means there’s saliva present in the sample, and we need to have a serious discussion with Shiro.”

…

Pidge and Lance bang on Shiro’s door. They barge past him when he finally opens the door.

“…Come in, I guess,” Shiro sighs, after the fact.

“Were you ever gonna tell us?” Lance asks.

“Tell you, what, exactly?”

“That you have Hanahaki,” Lance says.

Shiro stiffens, then narrows his eyes. “What makes you think—”

“A, you’re sick as quiznak, and B, there were petals on your bathroom floor,” Pidge says. “I took one. We checked, and it didn’t come from any plants in the greenhouse. There was blood on it, and when we tested it, it showed there was saliva too.”

Shiro’s face twists in anger. “You did _what?”_

“I know, I know, we shouldn’t have. But we did,” Lance says. “So?”

With effort, Shiro pulls his features into something tamer, if still terse. “Congratulations. You figured it out. No, I wasn’t going to say anything. I didn’t want anyone to know.”

“No one? Not even Keith?” Lance asks.

Shiro breaks into a coughing fit. It’s gut-wrenching, worse now that Pidge knows what it is.

“Why don’t we sit down,” Lance says, guiding Shiro toward the bed.

When Shiro manages to stop coughing, he says, “No. Keith doesn’t know. And you aren’t to tell him under any circumstances.”

“Keith specifically?” Pidge asks.

Shiro doesn’t answer.

“Why not Keith?” Pidge presses, relentless.

Shiro bows his head and admits, “Because I don’t want him to think this is his fault.”

_Oh._

Lance squints. “Are you saying you’re in love with Keith?”

Shiro sighs. “Who else would it be?”

Lance shrugs. “I dunno. Maybe that random guy from the bridge? I think I saw you talking to him once.”

Shiro gives him a flat look.

“Look, Keith doesn’t make any sense,” Lance says. “Hanahaki only happens with unrequited love, and Keith loves you more than the entire freaking universe.”

“It happens with unrequited _romantic_ love,” Shiro corrects. “Keith doesn’t think of me that way. He only sees me as a brother.”

“How do you know?” Pidge asks.

“Because he literally told me,” Shiro says. “More than once.”

Lance winces. “Okay, yeah. I guess that’s pretty clear.”

Shiro starts coughing again. It doesn’t stop, and after a few moments, he staggers to his feet and stumbles to the bathroom, hand clapped over his mouth.

Pidge and Lance wait on the bed as Shiro hacks up flowers into the toilet. They wait for a tense minute, then another, then another.

When Shiro finally comes back out, he can barely breathe. His lips are blue.

“Shiro, are you okay?!” Lance asks.

Shiro answers by swaying on his feet.

“Shiro!” Pidge cries.

They’re not fast enough to catch him as he collapses to the floor.

“I’ll go get help,” Lance says, dashing out of the room as Pidge runs to Shiro’s side.

“Shiro,” Pidge says, grabbing his human hand.

Slowly, Shiro’s white lashes flutter open. His breaths are too shallow.

“Ngh… Sorry you had to see that,” he says, weakly.

“Are you seriously apologizing right now?” Pidge says. “Lance is getting help. We’ll get you to the infirmary.”

Shiro shakes his head. “Don’t. I’m okay. It’ll pass.”

Pidge narrows her eyes. “Has this happened before?”

“Yeah. It’s fine. I’ll be alright.”

“No, you won’t be!” Pidge snaps. “I know what this disease does, Shiro. I’m not a child. Don’t lie to me.”

Shiro’s eyes glaze over. “You’re right. I’m sorry.”

“I-I know the chances of finding anything are slim, but I’m gonna try to find a cure. All of us will.”

Shiro shakes his head. “Don’t get everyone else involved. I don’t want Keith finding out.”

Pidge frowns. “He’ll find out eventually.”

“I—I want as much time with him as I can get without that hanging over his head. Please, Pidge.”

Pidge bites her lip. “At least let us take you to the infirmary where we can monitor you in case this happens again.”

Shiro closes his eyes. “I don’t—”

“It’ll make me feel better,” she adds, working her puppy dog eyes. She’s not _manipulating_ him, per se, but…

“Fine,” he concedes. He pushes himself up, human arm shaking with the effort. Pidge slides her arms under his back to help him sit up.

Lance bursts into the room with two med techs in tow, armed with a stretcher. “Shiro! Are you—”

Shiro waves them off. “I’m fine. I’ll go with you to the infirmary, but I _don’t_ need a stretcher.”

Lance looks to the med techs. “Pidge and I will make sure he gets there okay. We’ll see you back there.”

Lance helps Shiro to his feet, letting him lean against him.

Shiro stumbles, dizzy. He coughs, and he can’t hold back a few petals as they flutter to the floor. He sighs. “I was really hoping nobody would see me like this.”

“What were you planning to do—just die in your room alone?” Pidge asks.

“That was kind of the plan, yeah,” Shiro says.

“Ugh,” Lance says. “You are the worst. I don’t know how Keith puts up with you.”

Shiro coughs again, worse this time.

“Lance,” Pidge hisses, elbowing him hard in the ribs.

“Sorry, sorry.”

Pidge guides Shiro’s prosthesis to her shoulder, allowing both her and Lance to support him. “C’mon. Let’s go.”


	3. Chapter 3

“You’re certain you don’t need to visit the infirmary?” Allura says.

“I’m fine,” Keith croaks. “I can walk, too.” He squirms in Allura’s arms.

“Yeah, you said that on the hike back to the Lions and, uh, remind me what happened?” Hunk says.

Keith glares at Hunk, as if that’ll erase the fact that he’d collapsed and passed out while they were walking. “It’s just to my room. Put me down.”

Allura does as he requests. He sways on his feet, and Allura has to steady him. “Keith—”

“I’m fine,” Keith says. “I just got dizzy for a second. I’m fine now.”

“Uh huh,” Hunk says, rolling his eyes.

Allura holds out her arm for support. Reluctantly, Keith takes it.

The walk to their quarters is slow.

“You know this would be a whole lot faster if you just let Allura carry you again,” Hunk says.

“Well sorry for slowing you down,” Keith growls, stumbling. “You’re welcome to leave.”

“I’d rather make sure you don’t die in the hallway,” Hunk says.

“Well, I’m glad everything worked out with the Trifolians,” Allura says, before Hunk and Keith can go at it again. She loves them both dearly, but the past few days with the two of them has been driving her up the wall.

“Yeah, that food was seriously amazing,” Hunk says. “Man, lunch today was almost exactly like Earth mac and cheese, only a hundred times better. I can’t wait to try and make it.”

“Yeah,” Keith agrees. He smiles a little. “Shiro would love it. Mac and cheese is his favourite.”

“Aww,” Hunk says. “It’s so cute how much you guys care about each other. You’d be such a cute couple.”

Keith starts coughing.

“I mean, I know you’re not actually in a relationship,” Hunk says, “Whoever you’re in love with doesn’t love you back. But—”

“Would you stop?!” Keith hisses between coughs, doubled over.

“Touchy,” Hunk remarks.

Allura sighs and casts her eyes skyward.

A few white petals stumble past Keith’s lips to the floor. “Shit,” Keith mutters, sweeping them up and gathering them in his hand.

Allura bites her lip. They need to get to the bottom of this, and soon.

“Hunk," Allura says, "would you please go on ahead and bring the other paladins to my quarters? …For a, uh, ‘movie night’," she adds, when Keith looks at her. "So we can… ‘discuss movies.’”

“Got it,” Hunk says, with the least subtle wink possible, and takes off.

“Movie night?” Keith says.

“O-oh, were you hoping to join?” Allura asks.

Keith shakes his head. “Tired. Just gonna go to bed.”

“Oh, good,” Allura says. “I—I mean, we’d love to have you join us, of course. But rest is a much better option!”

Keith raises an eyebrow. “I’m just… not gonna ask. But you and Hunk aren’t gonna tell the others about…” He holds up the petals in his clenched fist.

“Oh, of course not!” Allura says. “Wouldn’t dream of it.” They’ll just have to heavily imply it, then.

She escorts Keith the rest of the way to his quarters. Hunk, Pidge, and Lance are waiting outside her room, adjacent to Keith’s.

“Whoa, Keith, are you okay?” Pidge asks.

“Of course,” Keith says, letting go of Allura’s arm. He coughs into his fist.

“You sick or something?” Lance asks.

“Just a cough,” Keith rasps. “I’m fine.” He opens the door to his room. “See you guys in the morning. Enjoy your movie.”

“Try to get some sleep,” Allura says. “And call one of us just in case your, ah, _completely normal cough_ gets bad again.”

Keith gives a dismissive wave and disappears into his room.

“He’s… not gonna call, is he,” Hunk says.

“I can hack the security cams,” Pidge offers. “We can check in on him.”

Allura considers. Keith asked them not to say anything, but he didn’t ask them not to spy on him…

“Sounds like we’ve chosen our entertainment for the night,” Lance says.

“That sounds super creepy, Lance,” Pidge says.

“You’re the one who’s hacking the cams in the first place!” Lance says.

“Come,” Allura says, bringing them inside her room. She and Lance take the bed; Pidge and Hunk flop down on the floor.

Pidge pulls up the cam feed and projects it onto the wall. Coughing, Keith makes his way across the room into his bathroom.

“Should we follow him into the bathroom?” Pidge asks.

“That’s, like, _extra_ creepy,” Lance says.

Hunk and Allura exchange a glance. They really shouldn’t, but considering the shape he’d been in the past couple nights…

“Can you check his vitals from here?” Hunk asks. “Is that a thing the Atlas can do?”

“Yep,” Pidge says. She holds up her personal device. “I’ve already set this to monitor Shiro’s vitals. It’ll inform me if anything goes really wrong. I’ll set it to monitor Keith too.”

Allura frowns. “What’s wrong with Shiro?”

“Uh… he… also has a totally normal cough?” Pidge says, poking at her device.

“Riiight,” Hunk says. “So, completely unrelated hypothetical question: if Keith were in love with someone who didn’t love him back, who would it be?”

Pidge and Lance are quiet as they consider.

“I originally would have thought Shiro,” Allura says, “but I’m certain Shiro would love him back.”

“Yeah,” Lance says. “He does. Er, _would_.”

“So if not Shiro, then who?” Allura asks.

“How do you know he feels that way about anyone?” Pidge asks.

“He definitely does,” Hunk says. “Hypothetically.”

“What even is mullet’s type?” Lance asks. “Up ’til recently, I thought he was, like, Shirosexual.”

“It is difficult to imagine him professing his love for anyone else,” Allura says, “which he did. …In this, ah, hypothetical scenario.”

“Uh, Pidge?” Lance says, pointing at her device. “Is that s’posed to be doing that?”

The graph on the screen is plummeting. Soon, the device starts beeping. “Keith’s not breathing right,” Pidge says.

“What do we do?” Lance asks.

“We could try giving him oxygen,” Pidge suggests.

“I’ll get him to the infirmary,” Allura says, getting up from the bed. “Staff are off duty. The rest of you, get the equipment set up.”

She hurries to Keith’s room, knocking twice before bursting into the room. She jogs to the bathroom, door wide open.

She finds him collapsed on the floor amidst clumps of blood-flecked petals.

“‘Lura?” he slurs between coughs. “What’re you… doing here? You—you could hear me from your room?”

“Don’t worry about that,” she says, dismissively. “I’m taking you to the infirmary.”

“Maybe… maybe that’s a good idea,” he wheezes. “Can’t really… breathe.”

She scoops him up in her arms and rushes him to the infirmary. Damp petals flutter past his lips; his violent coughing shakes the both of them.

The coughing only stops when he goes limp in her arms.

Heart pounding, she tears down the corridors. When she gets to the infirmary, Hunk, Pidge, and Lance are there, waiting. There’s someone asleep in one of the beds, too—Shiro.

“Quick. Put him down here,” Pidge says, gesturing to the bed beside Shiro.

Hunk straps an oxygen mask over his mouth. “Idiot,” he murmurs. “Why didn’t you let us bring you here in the first place?”

“Shiro didn’t want to come here either,” Lance says. “Birds of a feather.”

Allura has no idea what birds have to do with anything, but she lets it go. “Is Shiro’s condition anything like Keith’s?”

Pidge’s eyes narrow. She reaches for Allura and plucks a small white petal that’s stuck to her armour. “It’s looking pretty likely.”

Lance frowns, inspecting the petal. “So, uh, hypothetically speaking, what are the odds of two people having Hanahaki at the same time?”

“It is contagious,” Pidge says, “but it’s usually dormant. The odds of symptoms manifesting at the same time are low.”

“Is it triggered by some sort of event?” Allura asks.

“It could be,” Pidge says. “But what kind of event would trigger two people at the same time?”

“Maybe they had a chat about their love lives and both realized how hopeless their situations were?” Hunk suggests.

“That seems like an unlikely conversation, if we’re talking about Shiro and Keith,” Allura says. “Perhaps they are in love with the same person, and that person turned them both down?”

“Yeah, right. Like anyone would turn _both_ of them down,” Lance says.

“Very valid point,” Hunk says.

“It also can’t be that since we already know who it is Shiro’s in love with,” Pidge says.

Allura bites her lip. “Keith?”

“Yeah,” Pidge says. “But Keith sees Shiro as a brother.”

“Also, Keith’s in love with someone who doesn’t love him back,” Hunk says. “So it can’t be Shiro.”

“Have you asked him who it is?” Pidge asks.

“Oh, yeah, I did, like, fifty times. He got real annoyed,” Hunk says.

“I can confirm,” Allura says. “He shuts down if we get anywhere near the subject now.”

“Okay,” Pidge says, “so…”

“Perhaps it’s a member of the Blade of Marmora?” Allura suggests.

“Acxa?” Lance says. “She’s pretty hot.”

Allura scowls at him. “What about your sister?”

“Oh ew, Allura, no,” Lance says, wrinkling his nose.

“Who else is there… The MFE pilots? Griffin?” Hunk suggests.

“I mean, that’d explain the unrequited thing,” Lance says. “Griffin hates Keith. Grudging respect at best.”

“I wonder if Shiro knows who it is,” Pidge says.

“That seems like a bad conversation,” Hunk says. “Especially knowing what we do. Asking him would probably just hurt him.”

“Yeah,” Lance says. “Even if he does know, us finding out wouldn’t help anything. I’m curious, obviously, but whoever it is, Keith told them how he feels, and they turned him down. End of story.”

“Hold on,” Allura says. “Keith said they didn’t tell him they loved him back, not that they turned him down entirely. Perhaps whoever it is just wasn’t ready to tell him at the time. Maybe they’re ready now.”

“But wouldn’t they just go tell Keith, _hey, I’m ready now?”_ Hunk says.

“Maybe they think he’s moved on?” Lance suggests. “I mean, up ’til recently, I was positive Keith was mooning after Shiro. Maybe they think he’s moved onto Shiro too.”

“It’s worth figuring out, just in case,” Pidge says.

“How ‘bout this,” Lance says. “Tomorrow morning, Pidge, you keep looking into finding information on a potential cure for Hanahaki. Allura, you can discreetly reach out to others in the Coalition who might be able to help. Hunk, ask around the ship to try and figure out who Keith might be into. I’ll try to talk to Keith directly.”

“Sounds like a plan,” Allura says. “Why don’t we—“

She’s interrupted by a groan as Keith stirs. He blinks his eyes open and looks around.

As soon as he lays eyes on Shiro, he tears the mask off and launches himself forward. "Shiro!"

Allura catches him before he can fall off the bed.

"Here, let's just..." Hunk grabs the edge of Shiro's bed and wheels it over to abut Keith’s. He lowers the guard rails between them.

"Shiro," Keith gasps, curling up against Shiro.

Shiro rouses at the touch. He looks very, very out of it, but he murmurs, "Keith? Keith, are you okay?"

Keith cradles Shiro’s face. “I’m fine,” he rasps. “What’re you doing here? Are you sick?”

“Don’t worry about me,” Shiro says.

“Try and stop me,” Keith says.

Shiro smiles, but then he starts coughing, violently. He covers his mouth with his hand, but a blood-flecked petal slips through.

Keith’s eyes go wide. “Shiro… you…”

“…Yeah,” Shiro whispers.

A broken sob tears its way from Keith’s throat.

“It’s not your fault, Keith,” Shiro assures him.

“I-I know,” Keith says, shakily. “But still… I can’t… Not— not again…”

“I’m sorry, Keith,” Shiro whispers. He pulls Keith in close against his chest. “I’m so sorry.”

Shiro looks up at the other paladins. “Could you give us a moment?”

“Certainly,” Allura says. If they don’t figure this out soon, she doesn’t know how many more moments together they have left.


	4. Chapter 4

“Hey man,” Lance says, clapping Keith’s shoulder. “Can we have, like, a bro talk?”

Keith narrows his eyes. “No.”

“Real quick, promise.”

Keith just glares at him.

“Okay, cool. So confession time. I’ll go first. I’m in love with Allura. Now your turn.”

Keith scoffs. “Fuck off.”

“Yikes,” Lance says. “Looks like someone woke up on the wrong side of the hospital bed.”

“I just want to eat my breakfast in peace,” Keith says. “You don’t have to be here. I don’t need a babysitter.”

“Uh huh, uh huh,” Lance says. “Remind me how you’re gonna get back from the commissary to the infirmary.”

Keith glowers at Lance. “I’ll manage.”

“Okay, okay, how ‘bout this. You tell me who you’ve got the hots for, and I’ll leave you alone. Deal?”

“Why the fuck do you even care?” Keith snarls.

“Because I care about you! Jeez! We all do!” Lance says. “If there’s even a _chance_ that person likes you back, then—“

“He doesn’t! Okay?!”

There are tears glittering at the corners of Keith’s eyes, and Lance feels badly about putting them there.

“And you know this for sure because…”

“Because he’s in love with someone else,” Keith chokes out. He shoves his mostly full cafeteria tray out of the way and gets to his feet, but starts coughing.

“Easy there,” Lance soothes. “Hey, listen. Even if he is in love with someone else, it doesn’t mean you don’t have a chance. Just look at me ’n’ Allura. Things can change.”

Keith dumps a fistful of petals on his abandoned tray. “Not in this case. And even if it could, in case you hadn’t noticed, I don’t exactly have time to wait.”

Lance flinches.

“Whatever,” Keith says. “None of this matters. There are more important things to worry about. I’m going to the infirmary to be with Shiro.”

He stumbles forward, and Lance catches him before he can fall. “Okay, okay. Take it easy.”

“How can I take it easy?” Keith snaps. “Shiro is _dying._ He’s dying and I can’t—“ His voice cracks. “I can’t do anything about it. _”_

“…I’m sorry,” is all Lance can think to say.

He wonders if Keith knows he’s the reason Shiro’s in this state. He shouldn’t blame himself, of course not, but…

“Shiro’s really like a brother to you?” Lance asks, quietly.

Keith gives a shaky nod. “He was there for me when no one else was. He’s the family I never had growing up. I can’t lose him. Not again. Not like this.”

Lance wraps his arm around Keith, steadying him. Silently, they walk back to the infirmary.

Shiro’s still sleeping. Keith climbs into the bed and tucks himself into the crook of Shiro’s arm.

“Call if you need anything,” Lance says.

Keith makes a small noise of acknowledgement, his attention focused entirely on Shiro.

Lance heads for Pidge’s room. Pidge, Allura, and Hunk are already there, sprawled out on the floor.

“No progress on my front,” Pidge reports when Lance walks in.

“None of our allies in the Coalition have heard of anything like this condition before,” Allura says. “They’ll look into it, but…”

“Keith hasn’t told anyone on the ship he loves them,” Hunk says. “Everyone was just, like, ‘isn’t he in love with Shiro?’ I reached out to some others too, outside of the Atlas, but they all said the same. Even Kolivan and his mom said it has to be Shiro.”

“But Keith thinks of Shiro like a brother,” Lance says. “I asked and he confirmed.”

“Hmm,” Hunk says. “Pidge, can you hack the infirmary cams?”

“On it.” Pidge projects the screen on the wall.

Keith is right where Lance left him, in Shiro’s arms. He strokes Shiro’s flushed cheek, a tender expression on his face.

“Uh, Lance, do you ever look at Veronica like that?” Hunk asks.

Lance cringes. “Heck no!”

“Pidge, do you ever caress Matt’s face like that?” Hunk asks.

“Absolutely not,” Pidge says. “…So what you’re saying is we should consider the possibility that Keith’s a dumbass who doesn’t know what the word ‘brother’ means.”

“It’s entirely possible ‘brother’ means something different to him than it does the rest of you,” Allura says. “I never had siblings, so I don’t have the same ‘knee-jerk’ reaction the rest of you seem to possess. I think of you all as family. Even you, Lance.”

“I… guess that makes sense,” Lance says. “But still, that doesn’t explain why Shiro wouldn’t say it back if Keith told him he was in love with him.”

“He told him he _loved_ him,” Allura corrects. “Not necessarily that he was in love with him. And if Shiro’s concept of ‘brother’ is closer to yours…”

“Then he might have assumed Keith only loved him platonically,” Hunk says. “Wow. Okay.”

“God, they’re dumb,” Pidge says. “Forget Hanahaki. New diagnosis: idiotitis.”

“Is that a thing?” Lance says.

“Sorry, Lance,” Pidge says. “Yours is chronic.”

“Hey!”

“Come,” Allura says, rising to her feet. “We don't have time to lose. Let’s confirm with Shiro that they’re both truly denser than a Trifolian fudge cake.”

…

Back at the infirmary, Keith is nowhere to be found.

“Where’s Keith?” Lance asks.

Shiro rolls over to face them. “Bathroom,” he croaks. He looks dreadful, shivering and sweat-soaked and fever-flushed.

“Whoa. You look like death warmed over,” Hunk says.

Shiro starts coughing.

When Shiro’s coughing dies down, Lance says, “Okay, Shiro. Question time. Has Keith ever told you he loves you?”

Shiro frowns. “Are you trying to figure out the cause of Keith’s Hanahaki?”

“So you know about that,” Hunk says.

Shiro nods, a pained expression on his face. “Last night. I… saw.”

“So help us,” Allura implores. “Has Keith told you he loves you?”

“Well… yes, he has. But not in the way you’re thinking,” Shiro says. “I already told you, he thinks of me as a brother.”

“Did you tell him you loved him back?” Pidge asks.

“I… I guess not, no,” Shiro says. He gives a wan smile. “It wasn’t great timing. He said it to try to stop me from killing him when I was being controlled by Haggar."

"Well, it worked!" Lance says.

"Actually, it didn't. He ended up just chopping off my arm."

"Oh."

“So you’re saying,” Hunk says, “Keith told you he loved you, and you never said it back.”

Shiro averts his gaze. “I…“

Shuffling footsteps announce Keith’s return. Clutching a damp washcloth, he staggers over to the conjoined beds and collapses onto the mattress, breathing hard.

“Here,” Keith says. He folds the washcloth in half and sweeps Shiro’s sweat-damp bangs from his face to place it on his forehead. “This should cool you down a bit.”

“Thanks, Keith,” Shiro says, quietly.

Keith trails his knuckles down Shiro’s jawline, and— it’s Shiro. There’s no doubt about it.

“Shiro?” Allura says. “Now would be a good time.”

“A good time for what?” Keith asks.

Shiro looks at Allura. Allura gives him an encouraging nod.

Shiro braces himself. “I— Keith. We never talked about it earlier, but— what you said to me. When I— When I gave you this.” He reaches out, smooths his thumb over the scar on Keith’s cheek. “I love you too. It’s not the same kind of love you feel for me. But—“

“Fucking hell,” Pidge says. “How is it possible to be this dumb? It’s like you’re _trying_ to make each other sick.”

Keith frowns at Pidge. “I… I don’t understand.”

“Keith,” Allura says. “When you told Shiro he was like a brother to you, what did you mean?”

Keith swallows. “I… um…”

“I understand your hesitation,” Allura says, gently. “But you needn’t be afraid. It _is_ the same. So go on.”

Keith locks eyes with Shiro. “I… Shiro, what I meant was... you’re the family I always wanted. The only person who’s always been there for me. ...You're the only person I’ve ever loved like— like _this_. You’re everything to me.”

“…Everything?” Shiro whispers.

Keith slips his hand into Shiro's and nods. “Everything.”

Shiro turns to the others. “Can we have a moment? Alone?”

The paladins file out of the infirmary, letting the door shut behind them.

“They’ll be okay, right?” Hunk asks.

“Let’s find out,” Pidge says. She tilts her head toward the room across the hall. “This way.”

In the empty room, Pidge pulls up the feed from the security cam in the infirmary, giving them a clear view of both Keith and Shiro.

Shiro is upright, now. They’re sitting together, deep in conversation.

“What are they saying?” Allura says.

“There’s no audio, but I think Keith’s probably saying—“

“ _Oh, Shiro,_ ” Hunk says, dramatically. _“I was such a fool. I’ve been in love with you for five thousand years.”_

Pidge grins and chimes in. _“Keith, my darling,”_ she says, lowering her voice when Shiro starts speaking. _“I’ve loved you for five_ _hundred_ _thousand years. I was even more of a fool.”_

On the screen, Shiro and Keith move closer, shifting into an embrace.

 _“Wrap your big, strong arms around me, Shiro, you manly man,”_ Hunk says.

 _“Only if you promise to never let me go,”_ Pidge swoons.

Shiro and Keith shift to hold each other’s gazes.

 _“Oh, Shiro, I’m getting lost in your eyes,”_ Hunk says.

 _“I got lost in yours first, babe,”_ Pidge says.

Shiro and Keith lean in closer, faces bare inches apart.

“Are they going to kiss now?” Allura whispers, excitedly.

“One thousand percent,” Lance says.

 _“Shiro, sweetheart, babe,”_ Hunk says. _“Come hither.”_

 _“Oh, Keith,”_ Pidge croons. _“Kiss me, you bad boy.”_

They lean in, closer, closer, until… their foreheads rest against each other.

“Are you kidding me?” Lance says. “Just kiss already!”

Shiro says something, making Keith smile.

Keith says something else, and Shiro laughs.

“What else could they possibly have to say?” Lance says.

“Probably each other’s names, like, eight hundred times,” Hunk says. _“Shiro, Shiro, Shiro,”_ he says, swooning.

 _“Keith, Keith, Keith,”_ Pidge replies, swooning just as hard.

_“Shiro.”_

_“Keith.”_

_“Shiro.”_

_“Keith.”_

“Oh my _god,”_ Lance says, exasperated. “How much longer are they gonna—”

“Ssh!” Allura hushes Lance.

Onscreen, Shiro’s fingers rake through Keith’s long hair, tilting his face up. Keith closes the gap, and at long last, their lips meet.

The rest of the paladins cheer.

“About time!” Lance says.

As they deepen the kiss, Keith reaches around Shiro to give the camera the middle finger. A moment later, the feed shuts off, and the Atlas locks them out.

“Yeah,” Lance grins. “They’re gonna be fine.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It was a bit of a challenge getting everything to fit together just right, but I had so much fun with this story. Thanks for reading!

**Author's Note:**

> Follow me on [twitter](https://twitter.com/littlewhitetie)!


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